Door construction



Jan. 9, 1945. w ELLSWORTH 2,366,894

DOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 23, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l Jan. 9; 1945. w.A; ELLSWORTH DOOR CONS TRUCTION Filed Feb. 23, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 5-gwuem tcw WALTER A. ELLSWORTH Patented Jan. 9, 1945 DOOR CONSTRUCTIONWalter A. Ellsworth, St. Paul, Minn, assignor to Seeger RefrigeratorCompany, St. Paul, Minn, a corporation of Minnesota Application February23, 1942, Serial No. 432,050

2 Claims.

This invention relates to an improvement in material. Th outer sheathinghas a relatively smaller depth than the inner sheathing into which theinsulating material extends. Then by means of rubber comer blocks, whichare anchored in the corners of the outer sheathing under an intumedmarginal flange, the inner and outer sheathings are spaced apart withinsulating means between the same, thereby providing an insulating doorfor a refrigerator.

It is a feature to provide a door construction for refrigerators and thelike where the outer sheathing is formed of metal or suitable material,which may be painted or enamelled, and which has an integrally formedhorizontal intumed marginal flange about the periphery of the same. Therubber blocks are anchored to this inturned flange and project under thesame at the corners. Then by means of the inner sheathing which isprovided with a suitable depth and with corner portions adapted to restagainst and to be secured to the rubber corner blocks, I provide aneconomical door construction wherein the inner and outer sheathings arecushioned in relation to each other and between which insulatingmaterial may be packed.

This application is a continuation in part of my application Serial No.308,805, filed December 12, 1939, now Patent No. 2,277,483, patentedMarch 24, 1942.

It is also a feature to provide a. nonmetallic insulating finishingstrip means between the edges of the inner metallic lining and the outermetallic lining, and to interpose a rubber or composition gasket meansbetween the edge of the finishing strip and the intumed flange edge ofthe outer sheathing. By this finishing strip and the gasket means, theedges of the inner and outer sheathings are spaced apart by nonmetallicmeans, which is a poor conductor of heat, and considerable metalmay besaved around the edge of the inner sheathing, as this metal may be cutaway excepting at the corners where it contacts with the rubber blocksto support the inner sheathing in place.

These features, together with. other details and objects or" theinvention, will be more fully and clearly hereinafter set forth.

In the drawings forming a part of this specification:

Figure l is a perspective view of my door construction embodying mycorner blocks.

Figure 21s a detail of a corner of the door illustrated in Figure 1,showing the corner block in dotted outline.

Figure 3 is a cross-section on th line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a cross-section on the line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a. perspective view of an alternative form of my doorconstruction.

Figure 6 is a corner-detail of the door shown in Figure 5.

Figure '7 is a section on the line 'I- -l of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a section on the lin 8-8 of Figure 6.

The drawings illustrate my refrigerator door A in Figure 1 which isformed with an outer sheath ing I0 and an inner sheathing I I. Each ofthese sheathing members may be formed of metal or other suitablematerial, and when formed of metal may be enamelled or finished in asuitable manner to coat and decorate the surface thereof in the colordesired.

The sheathings I0 and II are pressed into the desired shape when formedout of metal, and the outer sheathing is formed with a curved edge I2which extends inwardly from the outer face I3 and projects virtually atright angles to the same. whereupon the inner marginal edge is formedwith an inwardly extending marginal flange I4 which extendsapproximately parallel to th outer face I3.

At each corner of the door A, I provide a rubber or composition block I5made of nonmetallic material and adapted to act as a cushioning means,and to which the corners of the inner sheathing II are anchored by meansof the bolt IS; The bolts I6 at each corner engage the washer nuts IIwhich are supported in recesses formed in the corner rubber blocks I5.The nuts I 'I have a wido washer-like head so as to form a broad bearingsurface, and thus permit the bolts I6 to engage the same with suffioientforce to securely anchor the corners of the inner sheathing I I to thecushioning corner blocks I5. This provides a resilient means at each ofthe corners of the sheathing I I and between the sheathing I I and theouter sheathing III. In this manner I provide a door construction of adesirable nature, as the metal sheathings are cushionally held togetherand silenced by the rubber corner blocks, aswell as insulated from eachother.

The corner blocks I5 are held anchored to the flange I4 by the screwsI8. A gasket member I9 provides the sealing means between the door andthe surface of the refrigerator to seal the door 'A in. place when it isclosed. The gasket I9 has a hollow head portion and flangemembersextending below the same which engage under the marginal flange I4 andthe marginal flange 20 extending about the inner edge of the -innercasing II. the heads of the screws l8, as illustrated in Figure 2. Thegasket I9 also acts to provide a sealing means between the inner edge ofthe marginal flanges I4 and 20 of the outer and inner sheathings,respectively.

The space between the outer and inner sheathings I and I I may be filledwith any suitable insulating material not shown. Thus it will beapparent that the door A is formed in an economical manner with theouter sheathing I0 spaced from the inner sheathing II, and with themarginal edges of the flanges Hand 20 spaced apart by the gasket I9 andwith the corners of the members anchored together through the insulatingrubber cushioning blocks I so as to securely attach the members togetherand resilienty support them in a manner so that the door A will standthe shock of opening and shutting and yet the sheathing portions will besilently anchored together and resiliently connected.

Figure 5 illustrates an alternative form of the door B of therefrigerator which is similar in structure to the door A, having thecorners anchored to the rubber corner blocks held within the corners ofthe outer sheathing.

In this construction, the rubber corner blocks I5 are virtuallyidentical to those just described in the cornersof the door A and areanchored by the screws I8 to the marginal flange I4 of the outersheathing III. The inner sheathing II is formed with the integral cornerportions 22, while the inwardly extending portion of the sheathing II iscut away at 23 between the corner portions 22. Then by means of thenonmetallic plastic or other suitable nonmetallic strips '24, which areattached by the screws 25 to the depressed flange 26, the cut away space23 between the comer members 22 is closed. The depressed flange portions26 are offset from the outer surface of the sheathing II so as toconform to the thickness of the nonmetallic strips 24 to provide asmooth joint between the strips 24 and the sheathing II along thesupporting flanges 26 and at the corner portions 22.

The corner portions 22 are formed integral with the inner sheathing IIand have foot-like integral flanges 21 which are adapted to be securedby the bolts I6 to the rubber corner blocks I5. This provides the corneranchoring means for the inner sheathing II of the door B and cushionsthe inner sheathing in relation to the outer sheathing It) at thecorners and securely attaches the inner and outer sheathings together.

A sealing gasket 28 which is similar to the gasket I9 is positionedbetween the flanges I4 and the foot flanges 21, to provide the properseal for the door B. The gasket 28 has a long inner flange 29 whichprojects under the foot portions 21 and which extends around andprojects inwardly from the marginal flange I4. This inner flange 29 isadapted to rest on the stringer mem- When the gasket I9 is in place, itcovers ascaaes bers 30 which extend between the corner blocks I8 andwhich are provided with a longitudinal recess ill for receiving theinner edge of the flange 29. These stringer members are wedged in theinner portion of the sheathing I0 between the corner blocks I5, and haveend'projecting lug portions which engage in the recesses 32 formed inthe rubber blocks I5. Thus the stringers 30 are held in place projectingbetween each of the corner blocks and forming a frame-like portionagainst which the flange 29 engages and rests. When the strips 24 areanchored in place by the screws 25 to the inner sheathing II, the inneredge 33 of the same presses into the soft gasket flange 29 to provide asealing joint between the edge of the strips 24 and the gasket 29, alstacting tohold the inside flange 29 hearing tightly against the stringerblocks 30.

Therefore it will be apparent that the door 13 is primarily of the sameconstruction as that of the door A in that the inner sheathing I I isanchored at the corners by the bolts I6 to the rubber corner blocks I5,and when the sheathings I0 and It are formed of metal, it is importantthat they be insulated from each other so as not to act as conduits fromthe inside of the refrigerator to the outside around the door edges, andthat these sheathing portions be cushionally secured together, making asolid door construction where the parts are cushioned and resilientlysupported together in a desirable manner.

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have have described theprinciples of construction of my door construction; and while I haveendeav ored to set forth the best embodiments thereof, 1

desire to have'it understood that these are only illustrative of .ameans of carrying out my invention, and that abvious changes may be madewithin the scope of the following claims without departing from thespirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A refrigerator door including inner and outer sheathings eachprovided with a flange, said flanges lying in a common plane on theinside of the door, parallel with the outside of the door and adjacentthe edges thereof, and being spaced at their adjacent edges, a resilientcorner block disposed between the outer sheathing and said flangesengaging the inside of the outer sheathing and spaced from the flange, amarginal gasket overlying said flanges and having a portion extendinginto the space between the block and the flanges, and means extendingthrough one of the flanges and supported by the block for securing theentire assemblage in resiliently united position.

2. A refrigerator door including inner and outer sheathings eachprovided with a flange, said flanges lying in a common plane on theinside of the door, parallel with the outside of the door and adjacentthe edges thereof, and being spaced at their adjacent edges, a resilientcorner block disposed between the outer sheathing and said flangesengaging the inside of the outer sheathing and spaced from the flanges,a margina1 gasket overlying said flanges and having a portion extendinginto the space between the block and the flanges, a headed nutcounter-sunk in the under side of the blockand a screw extending throughthe flange of the inner sheathing and the portion of the marginal gasketbetween the sheathing and the block, and threaded into said nut forsecuring the entire assemblage in resiliently united position.

' WALTER A. ELLSWORTH.

